Higher than the Sky
by 11Unknown11
Summary: Sometimes it's worth it. To try harder than your best, and to get higher than the sky. A collection of 100 short stories/one-shots. House of Hades spoilers.
1. Chapter 1

**I just got the House of Hades yesterday. And I finished it. I'm still speechless.**

**Title: Countdown**

**Word Count: 1,047**

**Rating: T**

**Disclaimers: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Darkness. The air whistling through her ears, all she could see was darkness. She was faintly aware that she was falling. Falling, how long until she met the ground?

She was holding on to his hand. Warmth. She longed for warmth, the burn of the bright sun far above them. Still, she held on to his hand, all words wiped from her mouth. The smell of dry blood, the smell of the sticky wet substance blocked away fresh air, like it was trapping any breathable oxygen inside an airtight container.

At first it left her wanting fresh air. Made her lungs burn like fire, the only air in Tartarus seemed to be smoke, and blood. She wasn't even in Tartarus yet. Minutes passed, and her lungs seemed to be more comfortable. She got used to the warmth that seemed to come from nowhere at all. She almost felt relaxed, comfortable.

Just thinking about that made her uncomfortable, that she could feel comfortable while falling into Tartarus. The seemingly endless pit of doom.

Maybe she was going insane. Not that she cared. He was here with her, and everything would be okay.

A small part of her mind was shouting at her. Shouting at her like she was on the verge of death. Maybe she was.

Telling her to stay aware. To know, to remember that if she didn't get out, everything she cared about would be destroyed.

That jarred her back to life. She couldn't fall forever.

They had to get out. They had to complete the quest.

* * *

Her eyes were closed.

She may have been unconscious, the constant feeling that her breathing was slowing was almost all that she knew. She felt almost dead, like she was halfway between life and death.

Half-dead. She knew that feeling to well. Maybe after dying, then coming back to life, the feeling didn't really bother her. Still, it was the unsettling feeling that if she didn't wake up, Camp Jupiter, Camp Half-Blood, and all of humanity, (Counting the gods,) would be destroyed.

She didn't like it. And as many times she told herself to wake up, she didn't. Almost as if something was keeping her from waking up, although she couldn't quite remember what.

_Think._

She remembered monsters, monsters that had poisonous breath and would be toxic to any mortal that breathed it. The poisonous breath. Of course. That's why she couldn't wake up. And why she felt half dead, and more dead than ten seconds ago.

What now? Not like she could do anything while being unconscious and poisoned. They must be worried.

She hoped they were worried.

Maybe she was panicking, the fact that she had never been more desperate for life, hoping that her heart would maybe speed up a bit, and the poison would be washed away.

Not like that would ever happen. She had to wait.

Wait for help.

* * *

He had to keep what he had just learned a secret. But what his friend needed to understand was that there was nothing wrong with what he felt.

It was hard to convince the guy.

But either way, he had to keep it a secret. Until his friend was ready.

Maybe for some time they didn't consider each other friends. Maybe they just didn't trust each other. Either way, they respected one another. And that was all that mattered. For now.

_For friends._

_For family._

_For everybody._

* * *

He knew he was stupid.

So very stupid. But it wasn't like he cared, he would find a way to get back to the island.

Swearing on River Styx was a big thing. He didn't care. He just wanted to go back, after Gaea was defeated. To see her again.

_An oath to keep with a final breath._

He might as well jump off of a cliff to kill himself. Which was surprising, because he 'chose' the cliff over the other choice. Making a promise like that, basically meant his doom. At least some people would stay alive.

Even if he didn't die, he would find the island again. Even if it cost his life.

People didn't deserve to be trapped on the island because of something that they didn't do. Or worse, something their parents did.

People that had a heart didn't deserve torture like that. Nobody did, unless they did something bad.

Like Gaea. She definitely did. Maybe he could come up with a way to keep Gaea contained on an island. Many people would want to see that.

But him, he just wanted to get back on that island, and free the person living on it.

He'd promised. And he wasn't going to break it.

* * *

He stared at the stars in the dark sky, bright against the vast endless space behind it.

The sadness in his chest, the guilt that he had left a friend to die. The reminder that he had to deliver some words, some words he didn't want to say.

The guilt was almost chocking him, it made him feel like he was a horrible person, like someone who wouldn't give a second thought to killing. Monsters sure like cursing him after he killed them, but it was almost sad that he had never thought about how the monsters felt.

He didn't want to think about how many living creatures he'd killed before. The thought made him guilty.

Guilt. Maybe that would be all he would bring home after the war. Guilt that many deaths would be on his hands, guilt that he'd left so many people behind, guilt that the blood of people he cared about would stain his clothes and their souls be in his mind forever.

He stared back up at the stars, the beautiful lights that shone over the world, that saw everything there was to see. The constellations that would stare down over humanity. A constellation far too familiar, seemed to look back at him, eyes that were kind and forgiving, when they shouldn't have been.

He looked down, then looked back up into the sky, refusing to look in the direction of her constellation, and said:

"Bob says hi."

He choked on the words, even though he'd said it every night since.

_Maybe he wouldn't ever be able to say it without feeling guilt._

* * *

__**End**


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: Battles**

**Word Count: 1,026**

**Rating: K+**

* * *

Percy was glad to be back at home. He was even more glad that Gaea had been defeated, and most people didn't die.

So here he was with his girlfriend in the streets of Manhattan, happier than ever, until he saw a far too familiar face. Freckles, red hair, with a group of friends that seemed a little bit uncomfortable. He despised the girl, even though he hadn't seen her in years. Nancy Bobofit.

Annabeth stared at him weirdly.

"Who's that?" She asked.

"Just a girl from my grade six class. Sort of a bully, she liked smashing her lunch on Grover's head."

Annabeth glared. "Nobody does that to Grover and gets away with it."

Percy wanted to tell her to just leave, but Annabeth wasn't about to be convinced. So he let her drag him to the group of nerdy looking girls. Could his day get any worse?

Nancy stared at them while Annabeth glared at the girl. There were a few moments of silence, before Annabeth broke the silence once again.

"Do you know why I'm here?" Her voice was challenging, something definitely not good.

"Can we just go now?" Percy hissed to his girlfriend, hoping she would get the point. Annabeth didn't budge.

"Who are you anyway?" Nancy asked, her tone almost as challenging as Annabeth's.

"I'm Annabeth. And this is my boyfriend Percy Jackson."

"Jackson? No way he would-" She cut herself off as she finally noticed him. " I get it. This is all some sort of joke. To get back at me for what I did. Well guess what? It didn't work!"

Nancy's voice was a screech, something that made Percy want to run away just to avoid the horrible noise.

"It is me. And she is my girlfriend."

"What does this have to do with me at all?"

Annabeth glared. "I want you to apologise for bullying my friend Grover. Or else..."

"Fine, I'm sorry. Now would you two just get going?"

"I'm not done yet!" Annabeth growled.

Percy sighed. "You are. And now we're going to leave." He started dragging her away from Nancy and her friends.

"But she bullied you and Grover!"

"You don't know that."

"I do!"

Annabeth protested all the way to Camp Half-Blood.

* * *

Frank couldn't help but be amazed at the greek camp. Cabins accorded to their godly parent, a lava climbing wall, (he didn't like that), girls popping out of trees and plants, and a good hellhound.

He didn't know there could be good hellhounds. Much less centaurs. And the had _the _Chiron in their camp.

Frank and Hazel followed Percy around the camp as he showed them various spots.

"See that pine tree with the golden fleece on it? That's Thalia's pine."

Frank looked in the direction Percy pointed at, and almost choked on his own breath when he saw the dragon coiled around the tree. And the glittering fleece, must have been the real one.

"Those are the Pegasus stables. And on the hill over there is Rachel's cave."

"Rachel lives in a cave?" Frank asked.

"When she's in camp."

Hazel seemed speechless as she looked over the camp once again. Suddenly, a voice interrupted Percy's words as he acted like a tour guide.

"You're still alive Prissy?" A buff girl with a bandanna was standing in front of Percy. Almost as if Percy had an idea, an evil grin spread on his face.

"Clarisse, meet Frank and Hazel." Percy said gesturing at the said two. Frank said a quick 'hi' and Hazel nodded a greeting.

"So who's your godly parent?" Clarisse asked Frank and Hazel, her eyes glinting.

"Pluto." Hazel said bluntly. "That's Hades in Greek."

Clarisse raised an eyebrow. "And you?"

"Mars. Or Ares."

Clarisse turned to Percy. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Nope!" Percy chirped happily. "Plus, Frank can turn into animals. Cool right?"

"Not bad Roman."

Hazel stepped forward. "Frank commanded an undead army."

Clarisse snorted. "I went to retrieve the Golden Fleece in the Sea of Monsters."

"I helped!" Percy said. "You would either be Cyclops chow or a bride for him if I hadn't come."

"I killed a Drakon." Clarisse shot back. "What can you say about that Prissy?"

"I helped you retrieve your Dad's chariot."

"Ugh!" Clarisse stormed away.

Frank turned back to Percy. "Who's her dad?"

"Yours."

Percy doubled over in laughter as Frank lost all of the words he had left to say.

* * *

Thalia sat next to Peleus looking at camp from the border. She was glad the Romans had finally made peace with the Greeks. No thanks to Octavian.

The Athena Parthenos now stood on the hill near her tree. It glittered gold under the almost setting sun, like a crystal. Thalia averted her eyes from the statue. It had costed so much, and nearly took so many lives.

A figure was walking to her. Thalia could tell who it was, without seeing her face. The person's body language, the way she walked and her rigid strait back and the purple toga.

"Reyna." Thalia didn't look at the praetor.

"Thalia." Reyna's eyes were unsettling.

The girl sat herself next to Thalia.

"Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a mortal? To be worried about normal things and to not have to worry about people being killed by monsters?"

"Yeah. Sometimes I just want to escape it all. To have no betrayals, no friends that got killed, and no parents that ignored you."

"Your last name is Grace."

"Jason mentioned you."

A few minutes of silence.

"I heard you had this pine tree named after you." Reyna's voice was rid of emotion, a hollow dry voice.

"I was the pine."

"Interesting."

"My Dad did it to save my life. The fleece brought me back."

"Percy says you're brave."

"I may be. But I ran from the Great Prophecy. Is that brave?"

"In his eyes you were."

Another few moments of silence.

"I should go now." Reyna said, standing up.

"Nice talking to you." The sun was gone now.

Thalia watched the girl walk away. Reyna may have made a good hunter.

But she belonged in the Legion.

* * *

**End**


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: Siblings**

**Word Count: 546**

**Rating: T**

**Characters: Artemis, Apollo.**

* * *

Artemis remembered every time in the winter she thought that the sun would never come up. She wouldn't admit it, but she did actually care for her brother. She could guess the feeling was mutual, they were siblings.

Apollo and Artemis had argued millennia and millennia over pointless things, like which one of them was older than the other.

Artemis had tried to completely cut off those conversations now. With Gaea rising, she never knew when it might be the last time she saw any of her family. She didn't want her last words to her brother to be something like: _We're twins!_

She didn't want something like that said to anybody in her family.

And yet, every morning when the sun was going to rise, Artemis would start to worry, a feeling deep in the pit of her stomach, that she would never see her brother again.

Then her heart was rush with relief when she saw the sun chariot, racing through the sky.

Now though, she avoided her brother. She couldn't help but argue with him. She might as well just not talk to him.

Artemis knew that was a mistake.

* * *

At first, Apollo made no notice to it. He just thought she was mad that Zeus was cooping them up in Olympus.

Then, Apollo started to notice. Artemis tried to hide everything whenever he talked, she wanted to just escape reality for a moment, because she wanted to see her brother alive another day.

Apollo was mad at her. That much Artemis could tell. He glared, he snorted, but he didn't make any mention of their arguments. Until Artemis herself had started to miss them.

Now, she had only made their relationship more strained, more broken than ever in many millennia. Their bond was never fragile. Artemis knew that well.

Maybe, just maybe, she had made what used to be strong as steel, become a thin sheet of glass that would shatter at the slightest impact.

No, it wasn't right. She had to apologise, she had to make things right. Artemis wanted to just grab her brother, hoping he would just understand like he used to.

At first it was hard, Apollo avoided her at all costs. Then, Artemis stood at the point where he would land his sun chariot, hoping he would talk to her for just a moment.

For the first two days, Apollo just walked past her. Not a single glance, acting as if she didn't exist. Maybe it hurt more than it was supposed to. Apollo only radiated arrogance.

On the third day, he'd glared and asked her roughly.

_"What do you want?"_

She hadn't responded. _'Coward.' _She told herself.

The next day, she gathered herself up, trying to be nice.

That was, until Apollo stopped his act and started apologising like crazy, his words like a river crashing through a broken dam.

His words stumbled over other words, talking so fast it was almost hard to understand. He was almost begging, asking what he had done wrong. Guilt crashed on her, but she swallowed, and managed to whisper two words.

_"Apology accepted."_

* * *

They would still argue over stupid things.

Artemis hoped the arguments would last for a few more millennia.

Even though the arguments gave her a headache.

* * *

**End.**

**I know this is shorter than the other chapters. Sorry.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks to everybody who Reviewed/Followed/Favourited! Thanks so much!**

**Title: Four Leaf Clover**

**Word Count: 678**

**Rating: K+**

**Characters: Piper, Jason, (Other mentioned characters)**

* * *

Piper never believed in the fact that finding a four leaf clover would give you luck. It was just a plant, that had an extra leaf among others. It was sort of like considering a human with an extra arm was lucky.

No, most people pitied the people with extra limbs. But a four leaf clover? People considered it lucky.

Piper had found one once.

She had been small, and she did believe what other kids said about the plant. And for a long time, she believed them. She thought that it would give her luck, that her she could convince her Dad to spend more time with her.

For a while it worked. Life got so much better. Every day Piper would clutch the small plant in her hand, hoping that school would be better. Day after day, Piper held the plant believing the magic. Until plant dried up.

At first she had been broken, and she tried her best to find another one. Until she realised her classmates were laughing at her, saying that her luck had been only a joke.

Tears pricked at her eyes and anger had burned in her palms. She wanted all of them gone, and for one moment, she had wanted them dead. She thought the clover would make her life so much better, when yet, it just made it worse.

* * *

When Jason gave Piper the clover, Piper didn't know what to say.

He said it would give her luck, luck that would hopefully keep them alive during the quest. She couldn't deny the gift, and yet, she didn't want to keep it. The plant had laid in her palm like a everlasting scar, something that had been clutched in her hand years ago, something that should have helped but only made things worse.

She had set the plant on her bedside table. She didn't want to touch it, heck, Piper didn't even want to see it. But she kept it there on her table, because she wouldn't dare throw it away.

Jason had given it to her. How could she not accept it? How could she just throw it away?

It wasn't like she could walk up to Jason and say that she had a rough relationship with clovers. He'd just think she was stupid. Stupid and dumb.

Piper wanted to see if the clover worked, even though it hadn't before. The hope that luck would come her way was rather childish, sitting on a flying warship heading to Greece to stop Gaea. Which would be hard considering the fact that Gaea would do everything to stop them.

Piper didn't mean to be a downer, but who wasn't feeling low on hope? Even Leo couldn't keep up the happy act for so long. She hoped Jason and the others were more hopeful than she was.

That night she couldn't sleep. Her mind had been churning, thinking hard about the prophecy, hoping that some of the lines wouldn't be true. But of course, they would always be true, whether they were confusing or not.

Piper sat up, and slipped out of bed. She clambered up to deck, feeling the cool sea wind blast in her face. Her hair flew behind her, and her eyes stung. The taste of salt settled on her lips, and goosebumps spread up her arms. She walked to the edge of the deck, peering over the edge. Black waves beat gently on the edge of the boat, and white foam shimmered in the moonlight.

Piper noticed that she was clutching the four leaf clover. She glared at it, but didn't let go. The wind had calmed, but only for a moment. She glanced back into the ocean.

Holding the clover by it's stem, she held it over the black water. The sea calmed by the slightest bit.

"Wish us luck." Her voice was a small whisper.

The four leafed clover fluttered down into the dark water.

For a moment, the reflection of the moon shined a little bit brighter.

And her heart felt a tiny bit lighter.

* * *

**End.**

**Still short, I know. Please R&R. Thanks!**


	5. Halloween Chapter

**Thanks so much to everyone! Happy Halloween!**

**Title: Spooky Stories**

**Word Count: 821**

**Characters: Thalia, Percy, Annabeth.**

* * *

The fire crackled in the ghostly midnight.

Thalia wasn't sure how they had managed to get lost inside Camp Half-Blood. Chiron had hosted a candy hunt in the forest, and somehow Thalia, Annabeth, and Percy had managed to get lost. Most people, would be surprised Annabeth could get lost. But she had been on a sugar rush, after the Stolls had replaced the sugar-free candy with normal candy.

So, here they were, in the middle of the forest, next to a dim campfire, while Percy told ghost stories.

"And then," Percy continued. "SNAP! The monster bit her head right off!"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "That's not even scary!" The sugar rush had worn out after hours of wandering.

"How about you tell a scary one then?" Thalia asked, hoping Annabeth would have a better story than all of the ones Percy had told.

"Well," Annabeth paused, thinking, then starting her story.

* * *

_There were three teenagers who were wandering in a dark forest. It was the night of Halloween, and they had decided to explore the dark forest near the abandoned house._

_The mist hung low, and the only light was the moon and the teenager's flashlight. The dense trees blocked all other light. The air was cold._

_"Hey Grace," One of the teenager's spoke. "I think I see something over there."_

_Grace squinted into the distant, her vision blurred by the fog. Surely enough, there was a shape in the distance, that looked slightly like a house. "Anne, do you think we should go there?"_

_"Not the best idea. But since we're already here, why don't we go?"_

_Grace lead the way towards the house in the distance. They walked closer and closer to the house, until they could see it clearly. The building was clearly unused for a very long time, the windows were boarded up and many walls were broken. Webs were in every corner, and blood splattered the walls. It looked like a typical haunted house, in movies or books._

_"This has to be some sort of trick."_

_"I'm not too sure Jack." Grace muttered, staring at the house._

_Cautiously, Anne opened the wooden front door. A creak rang through the air, long and screeching. Grace winced. Shining the flashlight inside the house, the three stepped inside. A large room stretched in front of them. Not a single piece of furniture was there, just an empty room. The floorboards creaked in protest as weight was applied._

_They stepped across the room, the flashlight making an even dimmer light. Room after room the three walked, until their flashlight flickered out. Darkness crept in their vision. It was the only thing there._

_"This is bad." Anne said. "Very, very bad."_

_"Duh," Jack stated. "You're the smart one. Think of an idea already!"_

_"We retrace our steps. It was a bad idea coming here anyway."_

_Grace shrugged, and Jack turned around, ready to leave the house. He walked forward a few steps, leaving the girls alone. Grace and Anne walked backwards, until they realised, Jack was no longer in the room._

_"Jack?" Anne asked, anxiety crept in her voice._

_There was no answer._

_Grace squinted in the darkness, trying to find her lost friend, until she realised the presence next to her was gone too._

_"Anne, this better not be a trick!"_

_There still was no answer. Sighing, Grace continued the way she had come. She walked for a moment, and a flash of light blinded her eyes. For a moment, she tried to blink the stars out of her eyes._

_When she managed to open them, she was in a white room. Pure white, the walls, the ceilings. There wasn't a single door or window. The room was large, far larger than she could see._

_Grace turned to one side, and a scream pierced her ears. The scream was hers. There was a body in front of her. Hanging from the wall. Blood matted the person's body, the person's face. Wounds were scattered everywhere, making the person nearly unrecognisable. But just barely, she could see who the person was. A face far too familiar for comfort._

_Grace looked down at her arms, shocked that they were colourless, transparent. The body on the wall, was hers._

_And she, was a ghost._

* * *

"I still don't get it!" Percy complained. "How can it be scary if it doesn't make any sense?"

Thalia rolled her eyes. "How can you not get it?"

"Grace was killed and she became a ghost! The End!" Annabeth said, waving her arms around.

"What about the white room?"

"It's some sort of heaven place."

"Oh." Percy said. "It still doesn't make sense."

Thalia groaned. "That doesn't matter! All of your scary stories didn't make sense either."

"That's true." Annabeth added.

"Hey!"

And outside the forest, far, far, away, was a house. It was dark and the fog made it hard to see.

It was the Big House.

* * *

**End. Also, the characters in Annabeth's stories are really just variations of Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia.**

**Please R&R. Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6

**In which I haven't updated in a while, and I suck very much by posting something that isn't even 1000 words long...**

**Title: Elpis**

**Word Count:560 - 600**

**Rating: T**

**Characters: Leo, Gaea.**

**Other Notes: Sort of HoH AU.**

* * *

Leo doesn't know what he's doing. Everything seems like a blur, a horrible mix of colour, the foul stench of death in the air.

He was given a choice.

In the end, he never really made the decision.

Leo walks down the tunnel-like area, the darkness is still blinding, even with a flame lit up in his palm. The flame seems to be flickering, even when there's no wind. There's barely any breathable oxygen here, but yet, he keeps going.

There's something inside him, like a dark tendril tugging at his heart, telling him that something was wrong. He'd had that feeling for a long time. Sounds of the dead came from a close distance, but they were drowned out by a woman's voice.

_Choose._

Maybe he did have a choice. If maybe he had chosen the cliff...

No.

Leo had to keep going.

His shoes crunched into the ground, which had become a blackish dirt, something that made him feel even more uncertain.

Leo kept walking. The tunnel, he would never come out. The cliff, was basically suicide. At least he could die a hero or something.

That probably wasn't true. Yet, he kept walking. The further he walked, the more unsettling the feeling became. And the more unsettling the feeling became, the likelier chance that he would die.

Right, because that was _so_ very comforting.

The ground rumbled. Leo froze instantly, his muscles tensing, and his breath hitching. Gaea.

_"You're right Leo Valdez. I am here. You chose wrong."_

"I didn't! I can change things. I don't need to follow what some random goddess says!"

_"But your choice was so very wrong. She said right. You will be the first to die."_

Leo held a hammer in his hand, his fire engulfing the tool. Orange light washed through the tunnel, brighter than before. His heart pounded, the beat unsteady and fast. His breath quickened into uneven breaths.

_"You are scared. Your fire cannot stop the me. You cannot defeat the earth."_

The ground rumbled even more, until it became what seemed like an earthquake. The tunnel ceiling started collapsing. Leo started doing something he wasn't planning on doing, running. His feet hit the ground, which was becoming more and more like sludge every moment. His pace slowed, the ground making it not even possible to run properly.

Gaea's figure appeared, a woman seemingly made out of mud.

Leo stood his ground. Well, the best he could in sludge.

"Oh, hate to say it, but you're wrong! Just like you always are!" Leo shouted, but the sound of souls drowned his voice.

_"You are the one who is wrong. Clinging onto the slithers of hope, Elpis, the small spirit in Pandora's jar. Do you really think you have a chance?"_

"Uh, Duh! The line in the prophecy, _To storm or fire the world must fall, _Basically meaning you, will fall!"

And with those words, Leo's body lit on fire. Hot flames that seemed to even burn his own skin, flames that he tried his very best to make the most dangerous. His brain spun, and exhaustion came quickly.

The sludge around Leo started becoming hard. Heat was all the air left to breathe.

Gaea chuckled. _"Foolish boy. I will rise. The gods, hope, will be destroyed!"_

The tunnel collapsed. All light was gone.

And Leo, became another soul, just another ghoul calling to the land of the living.

Just another ghost amongst the others.

* * *

**End.**


	7. Chapter 7

**In which I don't update enough, and my only excuse is homework.**

**A random rewrite of my other story, Victory and Failure. Because it needs this. Please don't read it. It'll be deleted by the time I finish writing this.**

**Title: Victory and Failure**

**Word Count: 721**

**Rating: T?**

* * *

Percy looked over the railing. Hills rolled by, shades of green made from grass and trees. His skin stung from the cold wind, even though it was only a soft breeze. He didn't remember the last time he had felt so safe, with no danger around the corner.

And he felt so very happy. Well, at least he should have.

Gaea was defeated. her stupid giants were gone. Why couldn't he just be happy?

Well, maybe that was because it cost too much. Percy didn't know who was still around at Camp Half-Blood. For all he knew, the rest of the campers that were alive he wouldn't even recognise! He found it strangely unfair for other. Everyone called _him_ a hero. When it wasn't him that sacrificed his life for others, or him who had done it all alone.

No, there were other people who did that. Percy was just a person who by luck, had earned victory along with the rest of the seven against Gaea. Maybe he wouldn't even be brave enough to do it. But that wasn't the point. Just yesterday, they had managed to get in contact with Chiron.

Everything came in a blur, he'd told them the people who were dead. Percy left after he told them the first person.

_Clarisse._

And even though he'd left, Percy had heard every name that Chiron had said.

_Chris._

_Drew._

_Nyssa._

_Malcom._

_Will._

_Harley._

_Lacy._

_Phoebe._

And then Percy had buried himself under the blankets. But blankets weren't soundproof.

Every single name that entered his ears, was another death for the Demigods. Another person they had failed to keep alive. Another person who had given their life.

Another reason that they hadn't really won.

Percy wondered how the rest of the prophecy seven could stand hearing any more. Muffled sobs came from outside. He could feel the grief, the sadness, the anguish, seeping through the whole of the Argo II. His heart dropped even more when Chiron said that many Demigods were still severely injured.

One after another, Percy wondered if anyone had come out unscathed.

Probably not.

He didn't come out for dinner after that. Nobody did.

And now Percy stood, peering out from on the deck of the flying ship.

Everything looked so peaceful, like nothing had ever gone wrong. He wondered if mortals had to feel what he felt right now. He hoped not.

But maybe if they had done a better job, people wouldn't be dead.

For the millionth time of the day, Percy wished he could travel back in time and change everything. Nobody would be dead. Gaea wouldn't ever rise.

But of course, that would never happen.

The wind whipped his hair into his face again. But he didn't care.

"Percy."

At first he thought he imagined it. But then he realised somebody was calling him.

"Annabeth."

She stared at him, and just looked at him, her face rid of emotion. Just her eyes, they were stormier than ever. It showed the inner turmoil ripping at her feelings, washing her to the very edge of sanity. As confident as Annabeth looked, Percy knew that secretly, a part of the strong shield she was, she was just as unstable as an emotional schoolgirl.

"You don't have to blame yourself."

Percy almost didn't hear what she said.

"I made too many mistakes." He said.

"So have I."

A pause of silence followed, silence that seemed to match the atmosphere of the whole ship.

"We won against Gaea." Annabeth started.

"But too many people died!"

"And if we didn't beat Gaea, there would be more deaths!"

Percy shut up.

"Look, Percy, Just remember that it's not your fault. Also that they chose to do what they did. The Three Fates work in strange ways."

"I know that." Percy stated.

"But do you know it enough that I won't have to remind you?" Annabeth challenged.

"Thanks."

"Anytime you need someone to remind you to think on the bright side, you know what to do."

And with that, Percy was the only one on deck again.

Sometimes to win something sacrifices need to be made.

Even when Gaea was gone, they didn't really win.

Even when many people died, they didn't really lose either.

And even heroes never win completely.

And even heroes never lose completely either.

* * *

**End.**


End file.
